16 things I had to Google when I moved to San Antonio

S. M. Chavey

August 14, 2018 10:25 AM

1. What does H-E-B stand for?

The Alamo City's favorite grocery store was known as "C.C. Butt Grocery" (or similar variations) for the first 37 years of its life. It was founded by Florence Butt in November 1905, in Kerrville. Fourteen years later, Butt turned over management to her youngest son, Howard Edward Butt, who had delivered groceries from the store as a boy. It wasn't until 1942 that Howard Butt first opened a store under the name H-E-B, in San Antonio. Now, the popular grocery chain also uses the initials for its slogan: "Here everything's better."

Considering the size of San Antonio's population, it was initially shocking that traffic in the city wasn't worse. We have our fair share of back-ups, but nothing to contend with most of the other big cities in the country. That could be because at more than 460 square miles, San Antonio is one of the biggest cities by land area in the country. New York, Chicago and Philadelphia — all of which are more populous than San Antonio — have fewer square miles.

2. How many square miles is San Antonio?
Considering the...photo-16009153.184181 - |ucfirst

3. What is a raspa?

And in similar searches: What is a mangonada? What is chamoy? What are chilotes? What is tajin and what is it used for? San Antonio food culture consists of a lot more than its quintessential breakfast tacos and barbecue, and many of these treats are impossible to find anywhere outside the Lone Star State.

3. What is a raspa?
And in similar searches: What is a...photo-13676749.184181 - |ucfirst

4. What years did the Spurs win NBA championships?

I've seen a lot of sports love in my life, but never as much relentless commitment from an entire city to a single sports team as San Antonio shows to the Spurs, even when the team isn't in season. Best player being traded? Veteran player takes vacation? Newest draft pick gets a dog? San Antonio cares. So I'm not going to make the mistake of forgetting one of the years the Spurs brought home the championship: 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014.

He was the reason the Spurs don't have a sixth championship ring, a nemesis to all who root for the black and silver team. Though it's been five years since his game-winning shot during the NBA finals, Spurs fans clearly haven't forgotten his name. He's right up there with Zaza Pachulia, the man often blamed for injuring former Spurs star Kawhi Leonard and "the most-hated man in S.A."

5. Who is Ray Allen?
He was the reason the Spurs...photo-12150636.184181 - |ucfirst

6. How common are rattlesnake bites in San Antonio?

Back in Minnesota, a rattlesnake sighting was newsworthy, but down here, people talk about them like they are commonplace. Then I read about a South Texas man who was bitten by one even after decapitating it, and I figured I should read up about them. Turns out, they're easy to avoid, their bites are relatively uncommon, and fatalities resulting from the bites are extremely rare.

6. How common are rattlesnake bites in San Antonio?
Back...photo-12463832.184181 - |ucfirst

7. What does Big Red taste like?

Yes, I know it probably would have been simpler to just buy a bottle of it and taste it. But as much as I hear about the drink and see it in store refrigerators, I rarely see anyone drinking it. So I did a little research, and apparently I wasn't the first person to look it up. Many describe the flavor as bubblegum, but it's actually made by combining orange and lemon oils with vanilla. Rumor says it also makes babies stop crying and cures hangovers.

Perhaps because San Antonio is so close to the Mexican border, the demographics of the city are fairly different from the rest of the country. Nearly 65 percent of San Antonio is Hispanic, as opposed to about 40 percent throughout Texas and less than 20 percent nationally. San Antonio also has higher percentages of veterans, foreign born persons, and children under 5 years than the national average.

Unlike many other big cities, San Antonio doesn't have many skyscrapers to show off the city's biggest employers. The results of a Google search showed diversity within the Alamo City's employment offerings: Joint Base San Antonio, USAA, H-E-B, Northside, North East and San Antonio ISDs, the City of San Antonio, and Methodist Healthcare System.

9. Who are the biggest employers in San Antonio ?
Unlike...photo-10451349.184181 - |ucfirst

10. Why is San Antonio so obsessed with Selena?

Even as a Midwest transplant, I knew enough to know the difference between Selena (the legend) and Selena Gomez. But I also knew Selena was born in Lake Jackson and lived in Corpus Christi, multiple hours from San Antonio, so I wasn't sure why she was painted on murals and praised by locals as though she was native to the city. While San Antonio can't claim Selena's birth or home, it can claim a large portion of her career and could easily be considered her second home.

10. Why is San Antonio so obsessed with Selena?
Even as...photo-14577013.184181 - |ucfirst

11. How do you pronounce Bexar?

During my first week or so here, I didn't realize the Bexar County I kept reading about and the "Bear" County I kept hearing about were the same thing. Thankfully, I Googled it before making a fool of myself. It was the first of several local cities that are not pronounced phonetically. Boerne and Seguin took me by surprise as well.

11. How do you pronounce Bexar?
During my first week or...photo-10050853.184181 - |ucfirst

12. Does San Antonio get hit by hurricanes?

The entire country saw the damage Hurricane Harvey did to several cities in Texas, so I had to know: could San Antonio get hit? The short answer is probably not. San Antonio has occasionally sustained damage from hurricanes, but the city is generally considered inland enough to avoid the devastating affects that cities like Houston experienced.

This is not a normal fast food joint. The name suggests expertise in barbecue, but the menu also offers tacos and fried chicken. And apparently they sell turkeys and pies during the holidays too. It's a San Antonio staple, so I had to try it. I just didn't know what to order. Google didn't help me much with this one, so I'm open to suggestions.

13. What should I order at Bill Miller Bar-B-Q?
This is...photo-14708639.184181 - |ucfirst

14. Why are there playgrounds on bar patios?

I was actually told about this one ahead of time so I didn't have to Google it, but it's definitely something I never saw in the Midwest. San Antonio is widely known to be a family city, so bar and restaurant owners eventually must have figured out that parents will come more and stay longer if their kids have something to do as well.

14. Why are there playgrounds on bar patios?
I was...photo-5194344.184181 - |ucfirst

15. How many people go to Fiesta?

The event was first described to me as a cross between Mardi Gras and a state fair. It's actually bigger than both. About 2.25 million people attended the Texas state fair in 2017, a google search showed, and about 1.2 million went to Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans. The estimated attendance of Fiesta San Antonio is 3.5 million, more than twice the population of San Antonio.

15. How many people go to Fiesta?
The event was first...photo-15462273.184181 - |ucfirst

16. How many 100-degree days does San Antonio have?

I'm still defrosting from two decades in the north, but those triple-digit days are quickly speeding up the process. Historical data shows only about 16 days of 100-plus degree heat per year, and San Antonio has definitely surpassed that this year. The city has also been ranked as one of the ten hottest cities in the country. Meanwhile, I'm still adjusting to people actually preferring winter over summer.

The Alamo City's favorite grocery store was known as "C.C. Butt Grocery" (or similar variations) for the first 37 years of its life. It was founded by Florence Butt in November 1905, in Kerrville. Fourteen years later, Butt turned over management to her youngest son, Howard Edward Butt, who had delivered groceries from the store as a boy. It wasn't until 1942 that Howard Butt first opened a store under the name H-E-B, in San Antonio. Now, the popular grocery chain also uses the initials for its slogan: "Here everything's better."